Memphis TN
Nick Averwater is part of the fourth generation of the Averwater family to be working at Amro Music in Memphis, TN. Nick fondly remembers his time as a kid running around the store and working odd-jobs for extra money. After obtaining his MBA with a focus in finance and completing an internship...
Pat Averwater has always been proud of the musical legacy of his grandfather, who established Amro Music in the 1920s. Since then, the Memphis based store has become a hub for the musical culture in the area. Pat and his brother, Chip, became the third generation to run the family business. They...
Al Bell was in the Stax recording studio in Memphis at the very moment Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed just a few blocks away. Ironically, the recording Al was producing at that time was a song he wrote encouraging Dr. King, whom he had known for years, to be cautious carrying...
Jody Stephens, along with three of his friends, formed the influential rock band Big Star and went on to recording several albums with the band. The band cut their early demos and all of their studio recordings at Ardent Studios in Memphis. The studio's founder, John Fry, took a liking to Jody and...
William Bell began singing in doo-wop groups before signing for Stax Records in Memphis, which is where his first hit was recorded. In fact that song, "You Don't Miss Your Water" was also the first big hit for the newly formed record label that would go on to redefine soul music. William wrote...
Martin Shore began playing drums at the age of six and always found great comfort in music. When the idea of a documentary about Memphis music came up, Martin ran with the idea, which has become the award winning film Take Me To The River. The film was shown at the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of...
Boo Mitchell was born in Memphis, TN to a very musical family. Hi father, Willie Mitchell, ran Royal Studios and was VP of Hi Records. He began working with his father at a very young age, and got to work along amazing artists such as Al Green, KC & the Sunshine Band, the Doobie Brothers, and...
Matt Ross-Spang is a Grammy award winning engineer, mixer, and producer. His first brush with greatness began at only 14 years old, when he received 2 hours studio time at Sun Studios in Memphis, TN for his birthday. He went on to intern at Sun Studios when he was 16 and really learned what it...
Ben Cauley can be heard on hundreds of Stax Record hits including those with Otis Redding. Ben was a member of Otis's backup band called the Bar-Kays, which originated as the horn section at the Stax studio in Memphis beginning in the 1960s. Ben was the only survivor of the plane crash that took...
Archie “Hubby” Turner served in the US Army during the Vietnam War and always felt the experience taught him, among other things, to appreciate the opportunity you have to add beauty and music to the world. Archie has done just that as a session player in Memphis, including at Hi Records. His...